The Luxury Network NZ recently held a working breakfast at Next Gen Health and Lifestyle Club, in Auckland, to discuss digital communications for the luxury sector.

Digital Communication has become integral to reaching consumers globally, but we wanted to look at how this is achieved with a HNW and UHNW audience and talk to a few experts who can provide us with insight into one of the most dynamic and challenging marketing channels we have available.

Our first speaker was Leanne Prichard, who has recently joined The Luxury Network to assist with business development.

Leanne has recently returned from 22 years living in London and has over 25 years’ experience in the fashion, retail, finance and luxury sectors. She has specialized in working with brands targeting HNW and UHNW clients. Most recently with Coutts Private Bank as their in-house luxury specialist and at Harrods Personal Shopping as their Business Development Manager.

Leanne talked us through her knowledge of the global luxury consumer; what sets them apart from other consumers, their expectation levels and how we need to engage with them in order to build trust, confidence and loyalty.

Leanne also shared with us some digital tools she developed with her team at Harrods to engage with a sophisticated, HNW client and build lasting, productive business relationships. This focused on everyday digital comms including text, whatsapp, wechat and email content as well as the concept of private Instagram accounts that allow personalisation for a high value client.

Leanne will also be working with The Luxury Network and offering business consultancy advice to our members.

Christie Hall, NZ Ernst & Young Law Leader, gave us valuable insight into the legal implications behind digital communication and database management for luxury businesses. With EU legal changes around data protection requirements and the introduction of the GDPR in 2018, which may have implications for NZ companies in the long run – this information is critical to compliance and best business practice.

Our last guest was Kris Lal, Director of Social Curator – a new agency specializing in social media communications and in particular, the use of influencers in driving engagement with Instagram campaigns. Kris recently won the #AirpointsEscape campaign for Air New Zealand. Kris talked us through the changing world of Instagram (which apparently moves forward every 7 days!) and how best to maximize engagement and drive meaningful connections. We looked at this through the specific lens of a luxury consumer, who are more difficult to target on social and less trustworthy of it as a source of credible content. Kris highlighted available metrics and analytical tools in using Instagram and ensuring we are engaging with an audience beneficial to our business goals.

What was evident from all three speakers, is that we need to embrace digital communications in order to both retain and acquire new luxury clients and be extremely mindful of the characteristics presented by this unique audience in how we connect and engage with them.